Attorney General Jeff Sessions delivered a vigorous defense of the hard-line Trump administration policy that has resulted in immigrant children being separated from their parents after crossing the border illegally during a lengthy interview on Tuesday.

Conservative radio host Hugh Hewitt, who admitted he was “disturbed,” by the separations, pressed Sessions repeatedly about the morality and necessity of the familial separations. But the attorney general stood his ground.

“If people don’t want to be separated from their children, they should not bring them with them,” Sessions said, echoing some of the remarks he made in May when the Justice Department announced that it would begin to prosecuting every person who crossed the border unlawfully, including many of those seeking asylum. “We’ve got to get this message out. You’re not given immunity.”